Alberto
Ayala began his tenure as the Air Pollution Control Officer and Executive
Director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District
on July 17, 2017. In this
capacity, Alberto now leads a team of dedicated professionals focused on advancing
the region towards cleaner air and a sustainable future. The Sac Metro Air District provides regional leadership
protecting public health and the environment from the adverse effects of air
and carbon pollution and implements economically sensible policies for
achieving the state’s air quality and climate goals. Under the direction of the Sac Metro Air District Board of
Directors, Alberto and the team will prioritize contributing to the expansion and
acceleration of the region’s sustainability efforts and ensuring the continued implementation
of the agency’s long-standing and successful rules, programs, and operations.
Alberto came
to the Air District after 17 years with the California Air Resources Board
(CARB), serving most recently as its Deputy Executive Officer responsible for the
state’s ambient air quality monitoring program and the agency’s laboratories. He directed regulations for equipment and
vehicle emissions reductions, including the state's widely recognized low
emission vehicle standards and efforts on sustainable transportation
electrification. Alberto was also
responsible for low carbon transportation investments and incentives for
vehicle technology advancement. Before
becoming a deputy, Alberto served in various senior management and technical
staff capacities in monitoring, mobile sources, and research.
Prior to CARB,
Alberto was a member of the engineering faculty at West Virginia University,
where he still holds an Adjunct Professor appointment, and a Design Engineer
for Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical. He has published extensively in scientific
journals, is a nationally and internationally recognized speaker, and occasionally
lectures in English or Spanish as a Visiting Professor in the U.S. and abroad.
Alberto holds B.S.('91), M.S.E.('93), and Ph.D.('97) degrees in mechanical
engineering from the University of California, Davis. His internships were with
GE's Corporate Research Center in New York, the California Energy Commission,
and the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory at UC Davis.
